


Aqours Plays D&D

by radokami



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Chatlogs, F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:09:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18887815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radokami/pseuds/radokami
Summary: Alternate title: Ruby Commits MurderSomething's clearly up with Yoshiko, and Hanamaru has an idea to help her feel better. A really nerdy idea.





	1. A Dungeon Crawl for the Modern Era

**Author's Note:**

> I rolled a bunch of dice and then wrote a fic about it
> 
> I've been lowkey obsessed with D&D mechanics since I played a few hasty sessions on Discord last year, and this fic is just the result of that fascination colliding with my newfound appreciation for Love Live fanfic. It's my first real go at fiction, so I'm figuring it out as I go along. Along those lines, huge shouts to Asallia, who beta read and offered suggestions that really brought this up to an acceptable level.
> 
> Also, in case anyone who comes across this fic isn't super on top of D&D lingo, here's a quick glossary of abbreviations I use:  
> -DM/GM: The person who runs the game (administers rules, etc.) instead of playing a character  
> -DC: A threshold a character can beat with a die roll to lessen a harmful effect or complete a difficult action  
> -Character stats are abbreviated by their first three letters, so:  
> \--STR: Strength  
> \--DEX: Dexterity  
> \--CON: Constitution  
> \--INT: Intelligence  
> \--WIS: Wisdom  
> \--CHA: Charisma

**Prologue 1: A coffee shop in Numazu**

_Click._

The phone screen went black again.

_Click._

And it lit up again, just in case there were any new notifications.

_Click._

No dice.

“Yoshiko?”

The former chuuni blinked and took her eyes off the phone. She reached for her coffee, only to find it was mostly empty. And cold.

“Yooooshiko?”

Zuramaru. Right. Yoshiko’s gaze rose to meet her friend’s, but before she could come up with a response she found herself striking a ridiculous pose. Was she really doing this? “Wh- who is Yoshiko? I am the fallen angel Yohane, and you would do well to address me as such!”

Apparently she was. Yoshiko very badly wanted to stop, but bringing out Yohane was a habit she hadn’t completely kicked yet. So she stayed frozen how she was, desperately hoping for Zuramaru to laugh it off and keep talking about… whatever they were talking about before this.

Hanamaru’s expression remained one of slight concern. “Are, uh… are you okay? I thought you were just tired, but this, uh. This looks different now,” she said with a nervous chuckle.

Yoshiko lamented the loss of the prior conversation, though she still couldn’t quite remember what it was about. At least she had a moment to breathe now, so maybe she could talk like, you know, a human being. “Uh. Sorry about that. I’m a little… distracted?”

Hanamaru leaned forward a bit. Obviously, but she wouldn’t say that. “Having trouble in one of your classes or something?”

“No…”

 _Click_.

How far should she push this exactly? “Music block?”

_Click._

“Not really?” Yoshiko saw the chance to talk about literally anything else and took it, though. “Just trying to juggle a lot of WIPs, mostly. Mixing, that kind of thing.”

 _Click_.

Hanamaru looked down. The phone, duh. “Are you… waiting for a call from somebody?”

Yoshiko felt her eyes involuntarily widen. “No, more expecting a text…”

Wait a minute, an escape route! “Oh, I guess there’s no point dodging it. The group chat’s been like, really dead lately and it’s kinda bumming me out.”

Hanamaru raised an eyebrow. “I get a few notifications from that chat everyday though.”

“Those are memes, Zuramaru. We hardly ever really talk in it anymore and I kinda overthink that sometimes like I wanna believe we’re all still super tight and everything and yeah sure Mari picked back up with Kanan and Dia after she was gone for a while but I’ve never had to deal with this myself so what if the group just falls apart or something and it’s my-”

Hanamaru had practically been sitting at attention since the speech started, but managed to break out of her stupor and reach across the table to put her hand on Yoshiko’s.

This shut Yoshiko up immediately. Wait, that was supposed to be a diversion, not an actual vent! What the hell was she thinking? She cleared her throat and once again had to search for words, but was distracted by Zuramaru’s expression. Was she… smiling?

“What if we all did something together then? You know, get the band back together!”

“What, over the group chat or something? What are you thinking?”

Hanamaru paused for a moment, puffing up her chest before announcing, “Dungeons and Dragons!”

Yoshiko was once again caught completely off guard. “What.”

“You know, the original RPG! Wizards and monsters and treasure and-”

“I know D&D. How do _you_ know D&D?”

“An acquaintance in my literature class told me about it, and invited me to a game once. She told me it was all about telling a big, collaborative story, so it’d be perfect as a group thing! And I can try out running the game, to put what I’ve learned about writing to a really different use!”

“So you want to DM, for the first time, in a group chat.”

Hanamaru nodded enthusiastically.

“And you think you can convince eight people to do this, and manage them all.”

“Just trust me, I think we can convince everybody to get on board, and then we can have our full group of nine back together! With only a fraction of the memes! This is going to be great, Yoshiko!”

This wasn’t even remotely how this conversation was supposed to go, but Yoshiko shrugged aside her skepticism. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

*    *    *

 **MIKAN GANG:** real isopod hours who up

 **shiny.exe:** I am

 **Riko:** Isn’t it like 4am out there

 **shiny.exe:** it’s no problem, bella

 **Kanan:** you sure you’re getting enough sleep babe?

 **shiny.exe:** of course, gotta get that beauty sleep in somewhere :3

 **Kanan:** really tho

 **shiny.exe:** I’m making it work I promise

 **Yohane:** wait is everyone actually on rn

 **Yohane:** i think now’s the time zuramaru

 **zuramaru:** Hey everyone! Yoshiko and I had a really cool idea for something we could all do together!

 **shiny.exe:** oh~?

 **shiny.exe:** do tell

 **zuramaru:** We were talking about how we want to do something as a group again, and I thought I could convince everyone to play Dungeons and Dragons!

 **zuramaru:** These days you can access all the materials electronically, so we could do it right here in the chat!

 **Dia:** That sounds...

 **shiny.exe:** great!

 **shiny.exe:** shiny!

 **Dia:** Bzzzt!

 **Dia:** That sounds impossible to coordinate, and not really to everyone’s tastes anyway.

 **Yohane:** what do you mean hard to coordinate mari’s here right now

 **Yohane:** that’s like the biggest hurdle

 **MIKAN GANG:** i think it sounds pretty awesome ngl

 **zuramaru:** That’s the spirit!

 **zuramaru:** And Dia, I’m sure that if you just gave it a try you’d find something to like about it. There are so many ways to build a campaign, the possibilities are endless!

 **Ganbaruby:** it could be fun, dia,,,

 **Yohane:** what say you, my little demon?

 **Yousoro:** Well it would take some work to line up with everyone’s schedule but

 **Yousoro:** I guess i’m down, yeah

 **Yohane:** ＼(￣▽￣)／

 **shiny.exe:** Kanan you have to play this with me

 **Kanan:** i can see this being a good time

 **Kanan:** yeah let’s do it

 **shiny.exe:** you know you want in on this Dia~

 **Dia:** Hmph.

 **MIKAN GANG:** riko you’ve been pretty quiet

 **MIKAN GANG:** riko not only should we totally do this as a couple

 **MIKAN GANG:** but if you join dia might cave too

 **Riko:** I love half of what you said

 **Riko:** I’ll overlook the other half <3

 **Riko:** Yeah, I’d be willing to try this

 **zuramaru:** It’s up to you, Dia. With you, we have all nine of us for this.

 **shiny.exe:** come on dia~

 **Dia:** Oh, fine. I’ll play along.

 **MIKAN GANG:** ayyyy

 **Kanan:** i’m sure you’ll warm up to it dia just give it a chance

 **Dia:** If!

 **Dia:** If everyone promises to take it seriously and not derail the story at every opportunity.

 **Dia:** Especially Mari!

 **shiny.exe:** you wound me Dia

 **shiny.exe:** but whatever you want~

 **Dia:** Please don’t let this be a mistake...

 **Yohane:** zuramaru we did it

 **zuramaru:** Yay! Now we should figure out some aspects of the campaign while we’re all still here.

 **Yohane:** i have some suggestions

 **Yohane:** feat rules, and we can use character options from any of the books

 **Yohane:** i want to build a really strong warlock

 **zuramaru:** We can do that! Just know that I won’t hold back with the monsters if we’re building really strong characters…

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh we’ll smash them

 **MIKAN GANG:** riko I’ve already got an idea for our characters we’re gonna smash them

 **zuramaru:** I’m thinking that in order to have a little bit of something for everyone, we should do a few one-shot scenarios. Y’all’d use the same characters but the setting and stuff would change each session.

 **zuramaru:**  And you’d probably get a few free levels between each one so we can get to some high level play without having to quest for months.

 **zuramaru:** If it turns out right, we’d get a pretty good overall experience in only about three sessions. Hopefully that’s easier to coordinate than a full campaign.

 **Yousoro:** Yeah fewer sessions would be way easier for me

 **Ganbaruby:** will you be able to help me make a character hanamaru

 **zuramaru:** Of course Ruby! I can help whoever needs it actually.

 **Yohane:** i’ll help you out little demon

 **Yohane:** i know the perfect build for you

 **Yousoro:** Sounds good, I’ve never played this before and it sounds like you know your shit

 **Yousoro:** Nerd <3

 **MIKAN GANG:** we’re all nerds for this i don’t make the rules

 **zuramaru:** Since everyone’s on right now, let’s try for same time a week from today.

 **Yohane:** see you nerds then

**Chapter 1: A Dungeon Crawl for the Modern Era**

**zuramaru (gm):** Welcome to D&D everyone! I’m sure most of us are raring to go, but I have a tiny bit of setup left to do and y’all need to introduce your characters, so why don’t we get started with that?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Tell us about your character, Ruby!

 **Ganbaruby:** well i have a rogue named callie, she’s a halfling and she’s really sneaky so she’s kind of a prankster. she’s not usually violent but she doesn’t like seeing innocent people get hurt, so she can put up a fight if she has to

 **Ganbaruby:** so it’s nice to meet you all

 **zuramaru (gm):** Great! How about you, Yoshiko?

 **Yohane:** i am the warlock yohane, harbinger of curses and student of the occult. i made a pact with a mysterious force called the hexblade that promised to hone my power and direct me to deeper mysteries to unravel. somehow, though, my greatest discovery yet is no dark power or forbidden knowledge. it’s just a girl with a huge sword and an unmistakably powerful aura.

 **Yohane:** (that’s your cue little demon)

 **Yousoro:** Okay, i’ve got a paladin named amara. I travel with yohane for a few reasons: to keep her from causing too much trouble, because she talks about me and my “aura” like i’m extremely special or something, and also because i think she’s really cute

 **Yousoro:** Oh and i used to be a sailor of course

 **Yousoro:** So free boat rides if we need them

 **zuramaru (gm):** That may come up, you never know. How about Riko next?

 **Riko:** I’m the elf ranger Alleria, partner and traveling companion of Jimmy. Together, we have wandered the wilds for most of our adult lives, living how we please and hunting to subsist. But something’s been happening to the wildlife lately. Our quarries move erratically, and some hardly move to preserve their lives. It wasn’t easy to make our way here through the urban sprawl, but we’re ready to face down whatever is upsetting the balance of the world.

 **MIKAN GANG:** so riko did a really good intro and now idk what else to say

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’m her dragonborn barbarian gf jimmy i guess? i smash face while she snipes

 **MIKAN GANG:** we’ve got a pretty good thing going and we’re not about to let some uh

 **MIKAN GANG:** whoever they are take it away from us

 **Kanan:** i guess that gets the job done

 **Kanan:** i’m playing a druid so i have a pretty similar reason for being here

 **Kanan:** i guess that could be my hermit discovery but idk how relevant that feature even is this week

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah, I’ll admit that background features are going to be pretty hard to use in general, especially this week because it’s mostly combat.

 **Kanan:** that works then

 **Kanan:** i’m just here to protect nature from any and all apocalyptic nonsense

 **Kanan:** umiel btw

 **shiny.exe:** time for my intro then~

 **shiny.exe:** introducing the amazing, the magnificent, the shiny Diavola!

 **shiny.exe:** she’s a lifelong musician and lover of women, and that’s about as far as I got but what more do you need really

 **shiny.exe:** oh she’s a tiefling that’s also important

 **Dia:** I’m so sorry you can’t remember more about yourself, Diavola.

 **Dia:** Terrible thing, amnesia.

 **Dia:** Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Kyou, a monk from the Tokugawa monastery. For centuries, our monks have served as peacekeepers and restorers of balance across Japan, and now I must uphold that grand tradition. I’ve been sent as the monastery's representative to help defend against this, um…

 **Dia:** Threat…

 **Kanan:** i don’t think any of us actually know the name of the villain(s) tbh

 **zuramaru (gm):** Well I can tell you that now, I’m done setting up finally. Let me set the scene and we can get started…

 **zuramaru (gm):** The setting is a world not unlike our own, but far less mundane. Magic and magical species have existed for all of recorded history, but technology has progressed along similar lines to our own world as well. In this world’s Tokyo, a mysterious group called Eye has been slowly building its ranks for years, but with little indication as to what it is they do. They draw recruits in with vague suggestions of a ‘higher existence’ and ‘arcane knowledge’ and have amassed a sizeable enough following to occupy an imposing headquarters in the heart of the city. A week ago, a strange light pulsed from the tower, but no effects were immediately seen in Tokyo itself so it wasn’t investigated. The likes of Umiel, Kyou, and Alleria noticed that something wrong had happened, however. Eventually, you all followed the call - to right what’s wrong, or to learn the truth - and it has led you to the tower that houses Eye.

 **zuramaru (gm):** So here you are. You stand on a pretty normal street corner, at the entrance to a huge, imposing skyscraper. There’s a distinct lack of windows above the first few stories, giving it an eerie feel contrasted with the bustling, neon surroundings. What do you do?

 **MIKAN GANG:** check for traps

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, what’s your perception?

 **MIKAN GANG:** +2

 **Riko:** I’ll do it

 **Riko:** How’s a 15

 **zuramaru:** You inspect the door to the skyscraper and don’t notice anything that looks like a trap. But you do feel a cold wind coming from under the door.

 **Riko:** This is unnatural. There’s got to be something sinister behind this door. Are we ready to face it?

 **Kanan:** we have to don’t we

 **shiny.exe:** then let’s go~

 **MIKAN GANG:** i open the door and get ready to throw down

 **zuramaru (gm):** Jimmy throws open the door and you all file in after her. You find yourselves in a not very unusual looking lobby, with a large, ornate desk dominating the far end and elevators lining the sides.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Sitting at the desk, however, is a slim person in a dark robe. They haven’t noticed you coming in, somehow.

 **Yousoro:** We should just confront them right

 **MIKAN GANG:** yeah, i walk right up to them with my axe drawn

 **Ganbaruby:** i’m gonna hide behind amara

 **zuramaru (gm):** As Jimmy gets closer, the figure seems to notice and stands up. They’re kind of freakishly tall, and there’s this look in their eye that just screams cultist. “What business do you have here, lizard?”

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’m here to smash tbh

 **zuramaru (gm):** They raise an eyebrow. “Well, there’s something to be said for that kind of honesty. Come on, then!”

 **zuramaru (gm):** They draw a dagger and leap over the desk to face you.

 **MIKAN GANG:** you really wanna try this? there’s 8 of us and 1 of you

 **zuramaru (gm):** They cast Mirror Image, splitting into 4 shimmering, distorted copies.

 **Riko:** You had to say that, did you?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Here we go! Roll initiative.

 **MIKAN GANG:** 8

 **Riko:** 5

 **shiny.exe:** 13

 **Kanan:** 10

 **Dia:** 16

 **Yousoro:** 16

 **Yohane:** 20

 **Ganbaruby:** 11

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, looks like turn order is Yohane, Amara, Kyou, Diavola, Callie, Umiel, Jimmy, the cultist, then Alleria. Your go, Yoshiko!

 **Yohane:** so how close are we all to this cultist

 **zuramaru (gm):** Jimmy is face to face with them, and the rest of you are about 15-20 feet away.

 **Yohane:** here we go then

 **Yohane:** i draw my quarterstaff imbued with the power of the hexblade, close in and swing at the cultist

 **Yohane:** attack roll is 20

 **zuramaru (gm):** You hit one of the copies, and it vanishes.

 **Yohane:** i’ll use my bonus action to attack with polearm master

 **Yohane:** roll is 22

 **zuramaru (gm):** You hit another copy, dissipating it. There are now two images of the cultist. Anything else for your turn?

 **Yohane:** no, i’ll pass it to Amara

 **Yousoro:** Okay, i should get close and attack too

 **Yousoro:** 18

 **zuramaru (gm):** You hit and destroy the last illusory copy. Now only the cultist is left.

 **Yousoro:** Nice

 **Yousoro:** That’s all i got

 **Dia:** I’ll move in as well, and swing with my wakizashi.

 **Dia:** I rolled 14.

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits! Roll damage.

 **Dia:** 6.

 **Dia:** I’ll make a follow-up with martial arts, I rolled 10.

 **zuramaru (gm):** That one misses. But the cultist is damaged now at least! Diavola’s turn.

 **shiny.exe:** I’m gonna use vicious mockery to spit a diss verse at them

 **zuramaru (gm):** They roll an 18 to save. That’s a success probably?

 **shiny.exe:** unfortunately

 **zuramaru (gm):** Then it’s your turn, Ruby.

 **Ganbaruby:** i can sneak attack right?

 **zuramaru (gm):** You can!

 **Ganbaruby:** then i’ll do that, i rolled a 15

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a hit!

 **Ganbaruby:** i did 14 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** They’re hurting at this point. Keep it up! Your turn, Umiel.

 **Kanan:** i guess i’ll throw on shillelagh, get close and swing

 **Kanan:** 10

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a miss…

 **MIKAN GANG:** it’s smash time babey

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’m gonna swing my axe at their weird face

 **MIKAN GANG:** 23

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a really solid hit.

 **MIKAN GANG:** 7 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** The cultist is almost dead now, but it’s finally their turn. They cast Spiritual Weapon, conjuring a floating sword. They cry “I’m going to take at least one of you with me!” before sending the sword at Umiel.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The sword rolls a 22, which hits?

 **Kanan:** yeah

 **zuramaru (gm):** It deals 2 damage, then moves again to attack Kyou.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay it rolled a 1, so it just whizzes past Kyou’s head and continues until it lodges in the wall. The cultist is dumbfounded.

 **Riko:** Then it’s time to finish this

 **Riko:** I attack with a roll of 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** It barely connects. How do you want to do this?

 **Riko:** Quickly, through the temple

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alleria’s arrow somehow finds its mark, burying itself in the side of the cultist’s head before they can launch into that rant they were drumming up for their Spiritual Weapon. Their body collapses at the foot of the desk, and you all get some xp! Round it up to 60 each.

 **MIKAN GANG:** hell yeah

 **MIKAN GANG:** see we got this

 **Yohane:** i’d say give talking a chance next time but zuramaru said today’s mostly fighting so

 **Yohane:** let’s loot

 **zuramaru (gm):** You spend a few minutes searching through the stuff on the cultist’s body and the desk, and don’t find much interesting. There’s a can of Pepsi you can take if you want.

 **Yohane:** a what

 **Kanan:** i might as well grab that since i took damage

 **Kanan:** it is a healing item right

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah, it’ll heal you for 10 hp on use.

 **Riko:** Is looking for info about this place a separate thing?

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’d be investigation. Anyone wanna roll?

 **Yohane:** i have a decent modifier

 **Yohane:** what’s 21 get us

 **zuramaru (gm):** You find a full floor plan pulled up on the computer at the desk. You can copy it pretty quickly, most of the floors are the same layout.

 **Yohane:** then i’ll do that

 **Dia:** We should move on, shouldn’t we? Someone’s bound to come this way eventually.

 **MIKAN GANG:** yeah there’s a lot more faces to smash i’m sure

 **Riko:** Then let’s get moving

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, so according to the floor plan Yohane found, the only way up is through the elevators.

*    *    *

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, one shadow to go, and it’s Amara’s turn.

 **Yousoro:** I swing at it with great weapon mastery, roll’s 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits, roll damage!

 **Yousoro:** 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** You throw all your weight into a slash that separates the shadow into two flickering pieces. There’s only one enemy left, and it’s uh…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Diavola’s turn.

 **shiny.exe:** oh don’t mind me, I’m just having fun with this mage

 **Dia:** Not only do we have to end this fight, I’m sure you can extract some information out of her since you’ve got her in such a…

 **Dia:** Compromising position…

 **shiny.exe:** you have a point I guess

 **shiny.exe:** uh, what do we actually need to know at this point

 **Yohane:** a safe spot to rest might be good since amara’s strength is down from the shadows

 **Yohane:** like, we have the floor plan but don’t know what’s on any of them

 **MIKAN GANG:** yeah ask where the cafeteria is or smth

 **shiny.exe:** that’s a good one

 **shiny.exe:** I caress the mage’s cheek and ask in the sexiest voice I can manage, “honey, which floor is the cafeteria?”

 **zuramaru (gm):** The mage is kind of caught off guard by the nature of your question, but replies “i-it’s on the next floor actually.”

 **shiny.exe:** oh, really?

 **zuramaru (gm):** She nods, clearly still distracted. What do you want to do with her?

 **shiny.exe:** prolly just stab her tbh

 **Gabaruby:** that doesn’t feel right,,,

 **Yohane:** i mean this is a combat dungeon ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **shiny.exe:** yeah I’ll stab her and be done with it

 **shiny.exe:** ciao!

 **zuramaru (gm):** You nonchalantly draw your rapier and run it through the mage’s belly. She gasps softly before falling on her back, maintaining eye contact with you the whole time.

 **MIKAN GANG:** brutal

 **Dia:** Alright, if we get moving we can hopefully fortify the next floor’s exit and buy some time to rest.

 **zuramaru (gm):** So y’all can move on if you want, but FYI that fight gave you enough xp to reach level 2! You can update your character sheets during the rest.

 **MIKAN GANG:** yeah let’s go steal some evil mage food

 **zuramaru (gm):** You pile into the elevator and quickly arrive in a room filled with tables and chairs, but no people. There’s a door on the far side, just like the other floors.

 **Dia:** We should barricade the door first of all.

 **Ganbaruby:** would that even work?

 **Riko:** Well, so far none of our enemies have been physically strong, so a decent physical barrier should hold long enough, hopefully

 **MIKAN GANG:** then let’s pile up a few tables and call it

 **Yousoro:** Yeah we should be strong enough to do this quickly

 **Yousoro:** (￣^￣)ゞ

 **zuramaru (gm):** It takes the two of you about 5 minutes to put up a satisfactory barricade. So, short rest time now! Level up your characters, chat if you want, I’mma take a bathroom break and be back in a few. We can get going again whenever.

 **Yohane:** level two ＼(＾▽＾)／

 **Yohane:** yooooooou you gotta pick defense as your fighting style you’ll be so tanky

 **Yousoro:** If you say so

 **Yousoro:** Tanky is good for sure

 **Yohane:** also bless is a really good spell

 **Yousoro:** You know i’m lucky to have you around

 **Yousoro:** I’d have no idea what i was doing otherwise

 **Yousoro:** I mean i kinda don’t anyway but yeah

 **Yohane:** just follow my lead little demon, you’ll be so op by the time we’re done

 **Yohane:** and i can’t wait to see it

 **Yohane:** i’m so glad you agreed to this tho I never thought you’d be down for something like this

 **Yousoro:** It’s easy to get hype when you’re hype tbh

 **Yohane:** just you wait

 **Yohane:** when you get the hang of it you won’t wanna stop smiting face

 **MIKAN GANG:** riko

 **MIKAN GANG:** riko you’s gf is helping her level up

 **MIKAN GANG:** help me level up

 **Riko:** There are like no choices to make at barbarian 2

 **Riko:** If you want my attention just ask

 **MIKAN GANG:** shit i’ve been found out

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh well let’s cuddle and also make our characters cuddle

 **Riko:** God you’re such a dork

 **Riko:** I love you

 **Yohane:** hey i’m miles away from my gf what’s your excuse for doing this in chat

 **Riko:** Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 **Yohane:** lmao it’s fine

 **shiny.exe:** well then, if I have Yohane-sama’s blessing~

 **Yohane:** oh god

 **shiny.exe:** hey Umiel, come here often?

 **Kanan:** i, uh

 **Kanan:** no?

 **shiny.exe:** yeah you must not because I’d definitely remember seeing such a cute girl here

 **Kanan:** oh so you do come here regularly huh

 **shiny.exe:** I’ve got to practice my freestyles somewhere you know

 **shiny.exe:** and the sense of danger really pushes you to come up with good bars

 **Kanan:** i’ll take your word for that

 **Kanan:** look there’s no need to dance around it, if you wanna get close just get close

 **shiny.exe:** don’t

 **shiny.exe:** mind

 **shiny.exe:** if

 **shiny.exe:** I

 **shiny.exe:** do

 **shiny.exe:** oh but doesn’t Kyou look so lonely over there

 **Dia:** I-!

 **Dia:** I’m not involved in this and really, genuinely have no desire to be.

 **Kanan:** if you say so

 **Kanan:** there’s space over here tho

 **Dia:** …

 **Ganbaruby:** hanamaru are you back yet,,,,,

 **Ganbaruby:** this is getting kinda ridiculous

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, yes, I’m back!

 **zuramaru (gm):** I hope you’re all leveled up and everything, because we’re getting back underway! The next floor is waiting.

*    *    *

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, last floor is up next!

 **zuramaru (gm):** Are we good to go?

 **MIKAN GANG:** 3 mermaids are

 **Riko:** God please just let that meme die I’m begging you

 **Yousoro:** You know she never will

 **Riko:** I do and I hate it

 **Ganbaruby:** dia and i are

 **Kanan:** ready

 **Yohane:** me too

 **shiny.exe:** yeah, let’s go~

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, you pile into the last elevator up. This one is noticeably longer, and a tiny bit rickety, but you make it to the top and step out into a different room from all the others. It’s circular and wide open, with a glass dome for a ceiling. A few of the very brightest stars can be seen shining through the light pollution. At the center of the room is what looks like a ritual circle on the floor with candles at equidistant points along its circumference. In front of it, with his back turned to you, is a surprisingly short man wearing the same dark robes as everyone else. He appears to be reading aloud from a book, and doesn’t notice you right away.

 **shiny.exe:** so much for rolling to seduce

 **Ganbaruby:** wait a minute mari i want to try something

 **Ganbaruby:** is there anything to take cover behind in here

 **zuramaru (gm):** There are some support pillars in a circle about 2/3 of the way between the door and the center.

 **Ganbaruby:** okay i want to sneak behind one of them and set up a shot

 **Yohane:** oooh gonna try out your assassin skills huh

 **Ganbaruby:** hopefully

 **Ganbaruby:** i mean hanamaru said this was a combat dungeon so i won’t feel too bad about this

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, make a stealth roll.

 **Ganbaruby:** 22

 **zuramaru (gm):** You make it behind a pillar without the man noticing. As long as you’re behind it you have 3/4 cover.

 **Ganbaruby:** okay i’ll wait here until the right moment

 **Ganbaruby:** go ahead and do what you’re going to do everyone

 **Yohane:** alright let’s see how far a chat gets

 **Yohane:** i walk a little closer and call out to the guy

 **Yohane:** what are you summoning up here? can i have a look?

 **zuramaru (gm):** The man stops reading, then slowly turns to face you.

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Nothing you could possibly imagine anyway, so I won’t bother explaining. What I’m more concerned about is how you got up here.”

 **Yohane:** oh, you’d be surprised how much i can imagine. come on, lemme see your notes i promise we’ll be in and out before you know it

 **Yousoro:** Uh, i don’t think we can let this guy off so easy

 **Riko:** We definitely shouldn’t, at any rate. He’s clearly doing some kind of Big Evil Ritual and we should probably try to stop it

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Ah, there it is. You’re here to stop us. I’m sorry to say, but even if you managed to fight your way up here there’s no stopping this ritual.” He turns his back to you and reads one last line from his book. At the center of his ritual circle, a portal opens.

 **Ganbaruby:** i want to attack him

 **zuramaru (gm):** Despite the cultist’s awareness of the rest of the party, he never noticed you. Roll with advantage.

 **Ganbaruby:** high roll is 19

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a hit!

 **Ganbaruby:** okay so a sneak attack crit

 **Ganbaruby:** 24 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Your arrow buries itself in his back and he staggers forward, shocked that he managed to miss one of the party that just came barging in. He doesn’t turn around, though. Between labored breaths he manages to cry “You’re too late! They’ve been watching you ever since you set foot in this building, but now I’ve brought them here! You’ll all make worthy sacrifices!”

 **zuramaru (gm):** Roll initiative.

 **Ganbaruby:** 15

 **MIKAN GANG:** 5 rip

 **Riko:** 6

 **shiny.exe:** 16

 **Kanan:** 14

 **Dia:** 19

 **Yohane:** 6

 **Yousoro:** 20

 **zuramaru (gm):** Turn order is Amara, Kyou, Diavola, the cultist, Callie, Umiel, Yohane, Alleria, Jimmy. Nothing has emerged from the portal yet, but the atmosphere in the room has changed. Something is coming. What do you do, Amara?

 **Yousoro:** Ruby hit this guy pretty good so it probably won’t take much

 **Yousoro:** I close in and attack the cultist

 **Yousoro:** 22

 **zuramaru (gm):** It hits.

 **Yousoro:** 11 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s lethal. How do you wanna do this?

 **Yousoro:** I probably shouldn’t make him suffer

 **Yousoro:** I’ll take his head

 **zuramaru (gm):** In one smooth, precise motion you sweep your sword across the cultist’s shoulders and put him down.

 **zuramaru (gm):** As the body settles, the portal shudders. Two shapes slowly form in the portal, and one comes hovering through. It’s a round creature with one large eye and four eyes on stalks at its sides. It surveys the room, looks down at the cultist’s corpse, and slowly rises to give Amara a knowing look. It screeches and joins the fight. Its turn will be between Callie and Umiel.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Your move, Kyou.

 **Dia:** Is there a way to close down this portal before the other creature comes through?

 **Yohane:** i can look through that book and see if there’s something i can do

 **Yohane:** just keep the thing off me and i’ll do what i can

 **Dia:** Alright, then. Your opponent is all of us, monster!

 **Dia:** I close in and make an attack with my wakizashi, then use Flurry of Blows to make two unarmed attacks.

 **Dia:** My sword roll is 13, my unarmed rolls are 14 and 6.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The first unarmed strike connects.

 **Dia:** Damage is 4, and I’ll use Open Hand Technique to prevent it from taking reactions.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Nice! Diavola’s next.

 **shiny.exe:** I cast faerie fire to make it all ~shiny~ and easier to hit

 **zuramaru (gm):** That spell has an area of effect, where do you want to center it?

 **shiny.exe:** on the portal then

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls a 13 to save.

 **shiny.exe:** my spell dc is 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, the Spectator is affected by Faeire Fire for the next 10 turns as long as Diavola can stay concentrated. Attacks against it have advantage for the duration. Callie?

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ll shoot at it from my spot

 **Ganbaruby:** high roll is 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** That misses.

 **Ganbaruby:** i use my cunning action to hide again

 **Ganbaruby:** 26

 **zuramaru (gm):** You definitely escaped its notice. But now it’s the Spectator’s turn. It uses fear ray on Amara. Beat a 13 WIS save or you’re frightened!

 **Yousoro:** 22

 **Yousoro:** This thing is basically mike wazowski that isn’t scary

 **MIKAN GANG:** g o t  e m

 **zuramaru (gm):** It’s not done yet! It also uses wounding ray on Jimmy. Beat a 13 CON save!

 **MIKAN GANG:** this is bc i laughed isn’t it

 **MIKAN GANG:** 17

 **zuramaru (gm):** You take 12 necrotic damage.

 **MIKAN GANG:** youch

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, next up is Umiel.

 **Kanan:** so like

 **Kanan:** i don’t think any of my spells can really do much against this thing

 **Kanan:** unless you let me entangle something hovering above the ground

 **zuramaru (gm):** Hmm…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Reading through the spell description, I can see an argument for it affecting low-hovering creatures. Since you can’t do much else I’ll let you have this one.

 **Kanan:** nice, then i’ll try to entangle

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 11 to save, that’s a failure right?

 **Kanan:** hell yeah

 **zuramaru (gm):** So now the spectator is restrained. It can’t move for the next minute. Now it’s on Yohane.

 **Yohane:** what check do i roll to figure out how to close the portal

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’d be investigation.

 **Yohane:** alright, i rolled 9

 **zuramaru (gm):** The cultist’s book uses a magical framework that is altogether unfamiliar to you, but you can make sense of it if you take more time. That counted as a search action, do you have a bonus action to take?

 **Yohane:** nothing that can debuff it for everyone so i’ll pass

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, it’s Alleria’s turn.

 **Riko:** I’ll make a ranged attack

 **zuramaru (gm):** Remember you have advantage from Faerie Fire!

 **Riko:** Roll is 21

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits!

 **Riko:** That hits for 10

 **zuramaru (gm):** You’re wearing it down! Next is Jimmy.

 **MIKAN GANG:** imma rage and swing right at its big weird eyeball

 **MIKAN GANG:** nat 20 bitch

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a crit!

 **MIKAN GANG:** 12 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** You take a furious swipe at its eye and connect perfectly, blinding it.

 **MIKAN GANG:** yoooo

 **zuramaru (gm):** So that’s one full round. The other shape in the portal emerges, revealing a second spectator. Its turn will be between Umiel and Yohane. Another figure appears in the portal, fainter this time. Amara’s turn.

 **Yousoro:** We should take down the first one huh

 **Yohane:** yes definitely

 **Yousoro:** Then i’ll swing at the wounded one with great weapon master

 **Yousoro:** 18

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits.

 **Yousoro:** 22 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** That definitely takes it down. GWM lets you make another attack on a kill, want to attack the other one?

 **Yousoro:** Absolutely

 **Yousoro:** I’ll use gwm here too

 **Yousoro:** 20

 **zuramaru (gm):** And that hits too!

 **Yousoro:** 22 damage again

 **zuramaru (gm):** In one continuous arc, you swat the first spectator out of the air, then use your momentum to deal an equally powerful blow to the second. It has to take a second to right itself in the air after such an impact.

 **Yohane:** i have the best little demon y’all

 **Yousoro:** Hehe

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, the second spectator is already hurting! Kyou’s turn.

 **Dia:** I’ll do another Flurry of Blows.

 **Dia:** Sword roll is 22, unarmed rolls are 19 and 8.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The sword and one of the unarmed strikes hit.

 **Dia:** I deal 12 damage total, and I’ll lock down reactions again.

 **zuramaru (gm):** I maybe need to balance the next session better oops…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, it’s almost down. Diavola’s up.

 **shiny.exe:** I suppose I’ll just make my way over to it and attack with my rapier

 **shiny.exe:** 23

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits…

 **shiny.exe:** 6 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s lethal. How do you wanna do this?

 **shiny.exe:** I wanna say impale its eye but that seems cliche

 **shiny.exe:** oh well, it’s a cliche for a reason

 **shiny.exe:** I skewer its big eyeball

 **zuramaru (gm):** You run the thing through with your rapier, piercing its eye dead center with surprising ease. At that instant it stops hovering, though. It falls to the ground with a heavy thud and the sound of snapping metal. You hold the hilt of your rapier and nothing else.

 **shiny.exe:** aww

 **shiny.exe:** well I assume we’ve cleared the dungeon so I guess that’s not the worst thing

 **shiny.exe:** I was overdue for an upgrade anyway

 **shiny.exe:** thing was getting dull

 **Dia:** So sharpen it…?

 **shiny.exe:** no I mean it wasn’t as shiny as it used to be

 **Dia:** That’s… equally easy to maintain…

 **shiny.exe:** it’s joke

 **Yohane:** okay but we still need to do something about this portal

 **Riko:** Then get back on that book

 **Yohane:** you right, do i need to roll another investigation?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah. You can have advantage since the fight’s over.

 **Yohane:** niceu

 **Yohane:** my high roll

 **Yohane:** was 8

 **Yohane:** darkness…..

 **zuramaru (gm):** So you obviously don’t find anything about closing the portal.

 **Ganbaruby:** and there’s another thing coming out of it isn’t there

 **zuramaru (gm):** You don’t find anything out about closing the portal, but. You do come across a page that looks like it’s about redirecting the portal. You can try to make it lead somewhere else.

 **Yohane:** oh

 **Yohane:** oh my god i see what you’re doing

 **Yohane:** and it’s kinda basic zuramaru

 **zuramaru (gm):** Hey, it’s my first campaign. Now are you going to attempt this?

 **Yohane:** well yeah

 **zuramaru (gm):** I’m not going to make you roll for this because yeah, this is how I’m wrapping this session into the next one. You recite the words, which you don’t understand, and the portal changes. The shape disappears, and the atmosphere of the room instantly feels less oppressive. But not entirely clear of danger, either.

 **Yohane:** well here’s the door to chapter 2

 **Kanan:** let’s head on through then

 **Riko:** Hanamaru said it wasn’t totally clear of danger but well…

 **Riko:** I guess we crossed that threshold already anyway

 **MIKAN GANG:** wait

 **MIKAN GANG:** before we go

 **MIKAN GANG:** did these things drop any loot

 **zuramaru (gm):** Well, I could generate some stuff but you’ll be jumping up several levels when the next session starts, and you’ll have a chance to re-gear your characters a bit when that happens anyway.

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh alright

 **zuramaru (gm):** So, tonight’s session ends as you all walk through the portal to somewhere new…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Thanks for bearing with me everyone! This was my first time running a game so I’m sure I messed some stuff up. I definitely need to rethink combat balance before next time, but just to give y’all an idea the next session will have way less fighting. It’ll be a bit more focused on skills and RP, so be ready for a lot more talking.

 **MIKAN GANG:** laaaaaame

 **Riko:** Oh hush

 **Kanan:** yeah you can’t smash everything bakachika

 **zuramaru (gm):** We’ll do this again next week! If anyone has any feedback for me before then, please lemme hear it. I want this to get better with each session.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Oh, and for next session, we’ll start at level 8. You also have 500 gold to spend on new items, which can be magical if you want!

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, good night everyone!

**Epilogue 1: McDonald’s**

“A can of Pepsi? Really?” Yoshiko ranted in between handfuls of fries.

“Look, it was a modern fantasy scenario and I didn’t give myself much time to think about items. But yes, I do need to work on that for next time.” Hanamaru sat across from her, trying to juggle eating, chatting with Yoshiko, and supporting the Ruby leaning on her shoulder. It was kind of working.

Said Ruby chimed in. “It was funny though,” she said with a soft giggle. “I think you did a really good job overall. You kept the rest of us on track and that’s kind of impressive on its own. I’m sure you’ll figure out running the game just like we’ll figure out playing it.”

“That’s a nice thought,” Hanamaru replied. “Thanks, Wooby.”

At the adjacent table, Kanan was absorbing one of Dia’s rants. Mari wasn’t taking this seriously enough, neither was Chika for that matter, this was a _role-playing game_ after all, not every problem can be solved with a roll to seduce or an axe to the face,

But Kanan knew this would pass, so she just kept sipping on her drink.

“Well, the modern fantasy setting was alright, but we need some kind of _Lovecrafty shit_ next time,” Yoshiko resumed after watching Ruby and Hanamaru cuddle for a moment. “You read plenty, I’m sure you’ve seen some Lovecraft.”

“Yoshiko, you lent me your copy of his complete fiction.”

“Oh, yeah. Guess I wasn’t a hundred percent that you actually took a look at it.”

Hanamaru recoiled just enough to avoid dislodging Ruby. “Why would I borrow your book if I wasn’t gonna read it?”

Yoshiko reflexively looked away and then back at Hanamaru. “I, uh. Dunno. Guess I’m used to having to poke and prod a bit.”

Hanamaru tilted her head. That hadn’t always been the case. Her mind went in a few directions at once with that, but she decided to voice none of them. Time and place, etc.

“Well, anyway, yeah, gotta do Lovecraft next, Zuramaru,” Yoshiko restarted the conversation again.

“We can do that, sure.” That was already the plan, but Hanamaru figured she’d let Yoshiko have this one. This whole D&D experiment was working a bit better than she had expected, so why not keep up the hype?

They’d probably need it to get through the next session.


	2. The Shadow Over Numazu

**Prologue 2: Three Mermaids’ apartment**

It wasn’t particularly quiet. It never was, really, but the sound of You’s keyboard seemed deafening as she plugged away at her latest paper. Page 10. Not finished. God, she wasn’t even in the humanities, why did she have to write this much? That thought alone was enough to kill her momentum, so she sat back and took a moment to let the world come back into focus.

“But you could at least try to take the roleplay stuff a bit more seriously.” Riko’s voice drifted through the thin wall. “It’ll be way less boring tomorrow if we aren’t just dragging you along between fights.”

“Mmm, not a bad point, Riko, but remember that my character’s strength is eighteen and her intelligence is six. She might just try to punch everything anyway.” You could hear the smug grin on Chika’s face.

“That’s… the worst interpretation of those stats, Chika. Isn’t she supposed to be chaotic good? Just drop the ‘lemme smash’ act for a minute and see where the story takes you.”

Silence. Chika was pouting. You took the chance to stretch her legs, stepping out into the kitchen and passing between her two roommates to reach the coffee maker.

Riko was winding up into a rebuttal, probably involving her own look and a _“please, for me, Chika?”_ but recalculated upon You’s entrance. “Okay, how about this. If the fun part is combat, just roleplay more around that fact. Make intimidate rolls, get info about the fights we are doing, stuff like that.”

Chika threw up her arms. “I guess there’s no helping it, huh. I’m gonna have to play the game _and_ enjoy it! Curse you, nerd!”

You sipped on her coffee in silence while Chika engulfed Riko in a hug. How many times had a scene like this one played out? You shrugged. It was cute, sure, but lately it was sending her mind to an uncomfortable place. Couldn’t be that hard for her to pick up the phone a bit more often, could it?

No, she had papers to write. Work to do. Coffee to drink (this was cup number three today). If she slacked off it would all come crumbling down. Obviously.

Wait, that wasn’t right either-

“You? Come back to us, You.” Chika had detached from Riko and planted herself inches from You’s face.

You took a deep swig of coffee. “What’s up, Chika?”

Allowing a moment of reprieve, Chika didn’t press any issue she might have detected. “Oh, I just wanted to get your take on How to D&D. Gonna do much talking this week?”

Good question. “I definitely should. Yoshiko helped me pick a bunch of spells, and some of them are good for conversations.”

“Right, you get spells. Barbarian doesn’t get much outside of combat.” Chika exchanged a look with Riko. “I think I’ll give it a shot, though,” she continued with a chuckle.

You replied with a wink and a salute, but stayed quiet. Yoshiko had set her up with a powerful character, sure, but it had so many moving parts. Leveling up for this session had been a _process_ , and just looking at her spell list was intimidating. She almost wished they had gone for a long form campaign, if only for the chance to slowly get used to her character, but this was what they agreed on. Three weeks, and done.

She could handle this.

**Chapter 2: The Shadow Over Numazu**

**zuramaru (gm):** Welcome back to D&D, everybody! Are we all ready to get underway?

 **Riko:** We’re all set here

 **Dia:** Ready.

 **Kanan:** good to go

 **shiny.exe:** me too

 **Yohane:** let’s do this

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, so just to recap, last week y’all scaled an evil cult tower, killed the monsters they were summoning, and took a portal to a mysterious new place.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The portal is not instantaneous; you can feel it warping and stretching your bodies as it sends you far away in spacetime, but this experience is not altogether unpleasant. You all feel a renewed sense of power, unlike anything you’ve felt before, coursing through you as you reach what feels like the end of the line.

 **zuramaru (gm):** An opening appears before you and rushes up to meet you, throwing you to the ground in a location that is unfamiliar at first glance. You stand atop a small mountain, looking down on a sizeable but otherwise unremarkable town. A river cuts through the town in front of you, wrapping around the mountain on either side. The sun is past its zenith and is slowly beginning to set, but daylight will last for a few hours yet.

 **zuramaru (gm):** What do you do?

 **Yohane:** naturally, i’m interested in what a shot of power did for me

 **Yohane:** i cast eldritch blast at a tree

 **zuramaru (gm):** You raise your hand, and two bolts of energy come flying from your palm towards the tree. It doesn’t stand much chance, and explodes into splinters. Make a DEX saving throw.

 **Yohane:** oh goddammit

 **Yohane:** we get aura of protection from amara right

 **zuramaru (gm):** You do.

 **Yohane:** ugh, 8

 **zuramaru (gm):** You get hit by a decently sized chunk of tree shrapnel and take 4 damage.

 **MIKAN GANG:** lmao

 **Yohane:** oh well, that’s not a bad price to learn how much stronger i am now

 **Yohane:** two eldritch blasts tho

 **Yohane:** amara, do you feel any different?

 **Yousoro:** I feel

 **Yousoro:** Raw magic

 **Yousoro:** Not just divine magic, this is different

 **Yousoro:** I don’t know if i’m strictly a paladin anymore

 **Yohane:** i knew you were special

 **Yohane:** what a discovery (☆ω☆)

 **Dia:** This is all well and good, but we can figure out what that portal did to us once we know where we are. We should head into town.

 **Riko:** I second that

 **Riko:** We shouldn’t be outside of town for too long anyway I’d imagine. No knowing what lurks around here

 **shiny.exe:** then let’s get moving

 **zuramaru (gm):** You start down the mountain and towards the center of town. It takes about half an hour to make your way there, so the sun is still relatively high in the sky. There are a handful of townsfolk, almost all human, milling through the square, but it feels emptier than it should at this time of day. Most of those who do look in your direction quicken their pace once they notice Jimmy and Diavola.

 **Kanan:** what is the architecture like around here, are we out of place or something

 **zuramaru (gm):** The buildings are all Japanese style, but nothing looks modern as you would understand the term.

 **Dia:** I’ll separate from the group and see if I can question someone.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Standing apart from the party, you draw much less attention, so it’s easy to flag down a passerby for a moment. He still eyes you warily, but asks “can I help you with something?”

 **Dia:** I’m so sorry for bothering you, but I seem to be lost. Could you tell me where I am?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “This is Numazu.”

 **MIKAN GANG:** yoooo

 **Kanan:** i’m sure one of us would’ve recognized numazu sooner

 **Kanan:** plus didn’t you say it wasn’t a big city

 **Yohane:** ohhh

 **Yohane:** ask him what year it is kyou

 **Dia:** Could you, er, tell me what year it is?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Hmph… The year is 1607.” He looks you over again, and glances at the rest of the party. “If you’re with them, I’d advise you leave town.”

 **Dia:** Wait, if it’s…

 **Dia:** You can tell me if something’s happening here. I am here on behalf of the shogun.

 **zuramaru (gm):** His eyes widen, but he stands his ground. “Just… leave. It’ll be better for everybody, trust me.” With that, he puts his head down and continues on his way.

 **Riko:** Yeah, and go where?

 **Yousoro:** If something’s wrong here it’s not like we could just leave it be anyway

 **MIKAN GANG:** yeah this is basically our home

 **zuramaru (gm):** So I take it we’re staying in town?

 **Dia:** Yes. We should find an inn to serve as a base for now.

 **shiny.exe:** alright, step aside ladies

 **shiny.exe:** ya girl with the 20 charisma can find the best inn in town, I guarantee it

 **shiny.exe:** I want to spend some time questioning the townsfolk about a good place to stay

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, that’s a generic CHA check.

 **shiny.exe:** 19!

 **zuramaru (gm):** You try to start a conversation with a few people, but they’re all too disturbed by the presence of a tiefling to hear you out. You’re about to give up when your last mark decides to stop and hear you out. Curiously enough, it’s a short, weathered old woman that isn’t skittish around you. She looks up at you and asks “What can I do for you, young lady?”

 **shiny.exe:** could you point me toward the finest inn this town has, donna?

 **zuramaru (gm):** She hesitates before saying, “That would be Kano Ryokan...”

 **shiny.exe:** great! where can we find it?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “...but the owner disappeared some weeks back. He ran the place on his own, so it’s been sitting empty ever since.”

 **shiny.exe:** oh… so where can we go then?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “The Kano was the only inn I knew of. It was an institution around here, so I never really had to think about alternatives.” She looks around warily. “I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

 **shiny.exe:** can I roll insight on that?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Go for it.

 **shiny.exe:** 17

 **zuramaru (gm):** You get the sense that she’s hiding something…

 **shiny.exe:** I wanna intimidate her

 **Dia:** Do not do that!

 **Dia:** We’re here to help, you can’t go around threatening people!

 **shiny.exe:** oh come on, we need info and she’s lying to me

 **Dia:** We ask someone else.

 **Yohane:** or we could just sleep in the abandoned inn

 **Kanan:** that’s

 **Kanan:** not a bad idea really

 **Kanan:** if nobody’s using it we might as well you know

 **Dia:** Are you kidding? That would attract far too much attention, on top of the bad impression we seem to have left already!

 **Dia:** If we’re going to help these people, we have to have their trust. Or something close to it, at least.

 **Ganbaruby:** i’m kinda with umiel on this

 **Ganbaruby:** as long as we sneak in and out

 **Ganbaruby:** and don’t steal anything

 **Ganbaruby:** it should be fine right?

 **Kanan:** plus i have 3+ casts of pass without trace

 **Riko:** I get the sense that the people here would rather pretend we’re not here anyway, so it might not even take that

 **Dia:** Even you, Ruby?

 **Dia:** Er, Callie?

 **Ganbaruby:** i just feel like it could get worse if diavola keeps asking people

 **Dia:** That’s… a solid point.

 **shiny.exe:** must every Kurosawa wound me in this manner?

 **Yohane:** so are we rolling with that or what

 **Dia:** I suppose we can try it.

 **Dia:** But only on the conditions Callie mentioned. It feels like we’re one slight away from getting chased out of town.

 **shiny.exe:** is that lady still there so I can ask where the inn is

 **zuramaru(gm):** Oh, she took your discussion as a chance to slip away. How about you roll perception for me?

 **shiny.exe:** 11

 **zuramaru (gm):** You glance around the square almost too quickly, but just barely notice that the Kano Ryokan is behind you, just down the street from the square itself.

 **shiny.exe:** well that worked out

 **shiny.exe:** shall we examine our new home~

 **Yohane:** let’s check it out

 **zuramaru (gm):** Anyone wanna do another perception roll?

 **shiny.exe:** I got that +9 don’t worry ladies

 **shiny.exe:** 11 again…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Fortunately for you, it’s easy to tell that the street is empty because there’s very little ambient noise - no footsteps, voices, no signs of life whatsoever, only faint echoes from neighboring parts of town. The front of the Kano Ryokan looks similarly devoid of life, every door and window shut tightly.

 **Dia:** I knock on the door, just to be sure.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Your knocking punctuates the silence of the street, echoing faintly. No response comes from the house.

 **Dia:** Okay, I try opening the door.

 **zuramaru (gm):** It doesn’t budge.

 **Ganbaruby:** don’t worry

 **Ganbaruby:** i have thieves’ tools

 **Ganbaruby:** i try to pick the door open

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, roll with whatever your proficiency is for me.

 **Ganbaruby:** 7,,,

 **zuramaru (gm):** You fiddle with the door for a few moments and run into a wall with it. You can take a moment and re-roll though, because you didn’t break anything.

 **Ganbaruby:** alright

 **Ganbaruby:** can i roll perception to see if there’s a trick to this lock?

 **zuramaru (gm):** I’ll allow it.

 **Ganbaruby:** 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** You peer through the crack between the door and the frame, and notice that it’s locked with a simple bar. You can try to use your thieves’ tools to lift the bar, but otherwise it might have to be broken down.

 **Ganbaruby:** okay i really hope this works

 **Ganbaruby:** 21!

 **zuramaru (gm):** You slowly and steadily lift the bar from the outside with little resistance. The door unlocks.

 **zuramaru (gm):** As you enter the inn, you’re naturally struck by the eerie silence. What little ambient noise there was on the street is muffled by the walls, rendering an atmosphere worse than absence. Before you entered, there was nothing alive in this place.

 **MIKAN GANG:** this town is really depressing guys

 **Riko:** Thinking of giving up already?

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh hell no we have to save this place even harder now

 **Yousoro:** (￣^￣)ゞ

 **Yousoro:** Is my divine sense picking up anything right now

 **zuramaru (gm):** You sense no celestials, fiends, or undead in the area.

 **Yousoro:** So this is outside either my area of expertise or my range

 **Riko:** I guess that means it’s safe enough here

 **Riko:** This’ll make a good base

 **Dia:** I’m loath to admit it, but…

 **Dia:** Yes, as long as we can avoid suspicion this will suffice.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Do you guys want to do more investigating today, or just spend the rest of the evening settling in?

 **Dia:** I think we’ve left quite enough of an impression for one day.

*    *    *

 **zuramaru (gm):** You find yourselves at the precursor to Numazu Castle as it stood just before its ruin. Though occupied, according to the townspeople, it already betrays a curious lack of upkeep - there’s an oppressive silence that reminds you of the inn where you spent the night, and there are no guards in sight. There’s an imposing door that’s a bit less faded than the surroundings.

 **Dia:** I’ll take the lead; if the daimyo is receiving visitors, I can likely use my connections to get whatever information we need.

 **shiny.exe:** and failing that, I’ll just roll to seduce him

 **Dia:** You most certainly won’t.

 **Dia:** I knock on the door.

 **zuramaru (gm):** A moment passes, then you hear slow, muffled footsteps and the door creaking. As the door opens, you see…

 **Ganbaruby:** see what

 **Riko:** Have we already found a monster

 **Yohane:** that’s such an easy way to take the story i’d actually be impressed

 **zuramaru (gm):** ...An average-looking man, very unremarkable.

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh come onnnnn

 **zuramaru (gm):** He bows to Kyou and recites, “The daimyo is not seeing anybody today.”

 **shiny.exe:** can I at least seduce the doorman

 **Dia:** Shh! I can handle this!

 **Dia:** Er, I am a representative of the shogun. May my companions and I please be granted a brief audience?

 **zuramaru (gm):** The man hesitates for a moment before responding, “Very well, then. You may enter, but know that my lord’s time is precious and he will expect you to be on your way almost immediately.” He steps back and gestures for you to enter.

 **Dia:** Okay, that worked…

 **Yohane:** we’re probably gonna need cha rolls for this though

 **Yohane:** i’d say mari and my little demon are best suited for this

 **shiny.exe:** I’m glad somebody appreciates my capabilities~

 **shiny.exe:** do you really wanna risk getting on the daimyo’s bad side, Dia?

 **Dia:** Kyou.

 **Dia:** ...would really rather not make unnecessary waves, so…

 **Dia:** If you promise to keep it in your pants, you can talk to the daimyo.

 **Dia:** Er, I really hope the, um, steward isn’t listening to this.

 **Kanan:** seeing as how we haven’t been kicked out yet, i’d say you’re good

 **zuramaru (gm):** You get no response from the steward as he leads you up a grandiose flight of stairs to another imposing door. He collects himself for a moment and throws it open. “My lord, you have a visitor on behalf of Tokugawa.”

 **zuramaru (gm):** The door opens onto an imposingly large room, with a weathered (but not old) man sitting at the far end. He looks up to meet your collective gaze, but remains silent.

 **Dia:** Greetings, my lord. My companions and I would like to have a word regarding your great town.

 **Dia:** Go ahead, Diavola, but know that I’m watching you.

 **shiny.exe:** I take it your lordship has heard about the disappearances in Numazu lately?

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo speaks in a startling, gravelly voice. “Perhaps. I am a busy man.”

 **shiny.exe:** oh? does that mean you can’t help us solve your problem? Numazu is like home to us and solving problems is kind of what we do

 **shiny.exe:** even just a little information could go a long way

 **zuramaru (gm):** Wanna roll a persuasion check?

 **shiny.exe:** 26

 **Yohane:** yeah this should work

 **zuramaru (gm):** “I can’t offer you anything myself. Perhaps I can point you toward one who knows more, but that is all. I am a busy man.”

 **shiny.exe:** well, that’s something

 **shiny.exe:** who are we looking for then

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Seek out a man named Hino. I believe I recall a few complaints about him investigating disappearances as well.”

 **shiny.exe:** can I insight that

 **zuramaru (gm):** You can.

 **shiny.exe:** 17

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo has hardly moved at all through this entire conversation, and that’s not about to change. It’s hard to get a read on him.

 **Riko:** Well, if this doesn’t pan out I have tracking at least

 **Dia:** I think we can work with that. We are very grateful, my lord.

 **Dia:** We should probably avoid wearing out our welcome. Let’s go.

 **zuramaru (gm):** You all gingerly head back towards the entrance. The silence in the air feels more oppressive than ever, like something’s reacting to you.

 **Yohane:** hey uh

 **Yohane:** little demon can you detect good and evil once we’re outside

 **Yousoro:** Can do

 **Yousoro:** Is there anything i can sense out here

 **zuramaru (gm):** You sense no celestials, fiends, or undead in the area.

 **Riko:** There’s definitely something weird going on but it could be anything

 **Riko:** I want to think it could be monstrosities because they’re my favored enemy…

 **Riko:** But that’s just speculation

 **Yohane:** we should go see if hino has anything solid for us to go on

*    *    *

 **zuramaru (gm):** After doing a cursory search of the house, it seems Hino is nowhere to be found.

 **Yohane:** of course

 **Ganbaruby:** did the daimyo like,,, know that hino also disappeared

 **Dia:** I wouldn’t be surprised if he fed us a bad lead just because he doesn’t want anyone looking into this.

 **Dia:** He did mention that he got complaints about Hino…

 **MIKAN GANG:** who knew that numazu used to be so cursed

 **Riko:** Well, it is just a few years from when the castle got abandoned irl

 **MIKAN GANG:** so are we at a dead end already

 **Yohane:** let’s check detect g&e here just to be thorough little demon

 **Yousoro:** Okay, what’s it look like here hanamaru

 **zuramaru (gm):** You sense no celestials, fiends, or undead in the area.

 **Yousoro:** I think we can rule out those enemy types yoshiko

 **Yohane:** yeah i guess so

 **Riko:** I think it’s time to give tracking a shot

 **Riko:** I want to use Primeval Awareness to check the surrounding 5 miles for monstrosities and aberrations

 **zuramaru (gm):** After a minute of concentration, you pick up a single monstrosity at the edge of your detection radius. It seems to be past the opposite edge of town.

 **Riko:** That’s… the direction we came from when we arrived in town

 **MIKAN GANG:** spooky

 **Dia:** That just means we were lucky. Hino clearly wasn’t so lucky, so let’s get moving before anyone else gets taken by this monstrosity.

 **Riko:** So I guess we’re following the trail to this thing’s lair

 **zuramaru (gm):** You walk for over an hour and eventually reach the general area where Alleria sensed the monstrosity. There’s a small, easy to miss cave entrance a little ways off the beaten path.

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’ll take the lead, i’m itching for a fight

 **MIKAN GANG:** let’s roll

 **zuramaru (gm):** You file into the cave one by one, with Jimmy at the front. It’s surprisingly bright inside, as a hole in the ceiling lets the sunlight through. You can’t tell at first glance how large the place is though, as the light tapers off past the spotlight in the center. Wanna roll perception, Chika?

 **MIKAN GANG:** 10

 **zuramaru (gm):** You hear a faint shuffling, but can’t pinpoint its location. Before you can react, a gaunt figure of about human height rushes from the shadows and grabs Jimmy with spindly, webbed fingers. It levels its gaze at Jimmy, and opens its mouth, which is about three times the size it should be for a creature of this size. It issues a low growl, and more figures emerge from the shadows. Roll initiative!

 **MIKAN GANG:** 2

 **Dia:** 21.

 **Kanan:** 18

 **shiny.exe:** 14

 **Riko:** 19

 **Ganbaruby:** 25!

 **Yohane:** 13

 **Yousoro:** 9

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so turn order is Callie, Kyou, Alleria, Umiel, Lost B, Diavola, Yohane, Lost A, Amara, The Hungry, then Jimmy (who is grappled). Also, you’re all surprised.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Uh, that means only Callie really gets to act for round one. So let’s get this started, Callie.

 **Ganbaruby:** so is the hungry the one grappling jimmy?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yes.

 **Ganbaruby:** then i’ll take a shot at it

 **Ganbaruby:** oh, 10

 **zuramaru (gm):** So that’s a miss. Got anything else?

 **Ganbaruby:** i want to get further away from the targets and try to hide

 **Ganbaruby:** so that roll is 19

 **zuramaru (gm):** That works, you’ve escaped the notice of these creatures. The turn order cycles as Kyou, Alleria, and Umiel shake off the surprise, and now it’s Lost B’s turn.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The two creatures that shuffled in to aid The Hungry are specimens called The Lost, and stand slightly shorter than The Hungry but have equally distorted features. They sport five arms, each ending in a long, bony spike rather than a hand. Their faces are noticeably more empty than that of The Hungry. One of them lurches toward Amara, and makes the first of its two attacks.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Its first roll is 17.

 **Yousoro:** That misses

 **zuramaru (gm):** It makes a second attack at Amara, rolling 24 this time.

 **Yousoro:** And that’s definitely a hit

 **zuramaru (gm):** It deals 12 damage, and finishes its turn.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Diavola and Yohane also need a moment to get their bearings, so next up is Lost A.

 **zuramaru (gm):** This one closes in to reach Yohane, and makes both of its attacks, rolling 17 both times.

 **Yohane:** those both hit oh boy

 **zuramaru (gm):** So they total 35 damage.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The turn passes by Amara and to The Hungry, who is currently grappling Jimmy. It goes to bite at her, but rolls a 9 and misses.

 **zuramaru (gm):** And Jimmy gets over her surprise and now the real fight begins! Take your turn, Callie!

 **Ganbaruby:** okay i think we should focus down lost a right this second maybe?

 **Ganbaruby:** so i’ll take a shot at that one

 **Ganbaruby:** nat 20!

 **zuramaru (gm):** Awesome, roll critical damage!

 **Ganbaruby:** 33!

 **Ganbaruby:** and then i’ll try to hide again

 **Ganbaruby:** and roll a nat 20 again???

 **zuramaru (gm):** Fate was with you that round apparently! You easily vanish back into the shadows after dealing a decisive blow to Yohane’s assailant. Now it’s Kyou’s turn.

 **Dia:** Callie’s idea was a good one, so I’ll close into, um, Lost A and make my first attack.

 **Dia:** First roll is 18.

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits.

 **Dia:** Damage roll is 7, and I’ll make my extra attack at the same target.

 **Dia:** 26, so damage for that is 10.

 **Dia:** I’ll also expend a ki point to make a third attack.

 **Dia:** Attack roll is 18, so 12 damage.

 **Yohane:** damn thanks jotaro

 **Dia:** …

 **Kanan:** i don’t think she knows who that is lmao

 **zuramaru (gm):** Anyway,

 **zuramaru (gm):** Lost A is still kicking, but in a pretty bad way at this point. Alleria’s turn.

 **Riko:** Then I’ll try to finish it

 **Riko:** My attack roll is 28, which I assume hits, so

 **Riko:** 20 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** And that’s a kill! Lost A is down and Yohane can breathe easy for now!

 **Riko:** So I’ll use my extra attack to fire at The Hungry

 **Riko:** Nat 20, so crit damage is 17

 **zuramaru (gm):** So Alleria had a pretty good turn! Next is Umiel.

 **Kanan:** i’ll cast a faerie fire centered on the hungry, dc is 16

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry’s roll is 5, and Lost B’s roll is 12, so they both suffer the full effects. Attacks against either one will have advantage for the next ten rounds.

 **zuramaru (gm):** So now it’s Lost B’s turn, and it’s going to make both of its attacks at Amara.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The first attack roll is a nat 1, but the second is a 25.

 **Yousoro:** Yeah the second one hits

 **zuramaru (gm):** So that deals 18 damage. Now it’s Diavola’s turn.

 **shiny.exe:** I think this situation calls for one thing and one thing only

 **shiny.exe:** bless

 **shiny.exe:** I’m gonna cast bless on Amara, Yohane, and Jimmy

 **zuramaru (gm):** So each of you can add 1d4 to a saving throw or attack roll.

 **zuramaru (gm):** If Diavola’s got nothing else then it’s Yohane’s turn.

 **Yohane:** okay let’s do this

 **Yohane:** i’ll close in to lost a, then use my two normal attacks and polearm master attack on it

 **Yohane:** normal attack rolls are a nat 20 and a 25

 **Yohane:** so damage for those is 25

 **Yohane:** last attack roll is 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** That one’s a miss.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Amara’s turn.

 **Yousoro:** I’ll try a great weapon mastery attack at lost a

 **Yousoro:** 13, miss

 **Yousoro:** Okay i’ll try another

 **Yousoro:** 11 how even

 **Yohane:** are you rolling with advantage little demon

 **Yousoro:** Yeah, those were just really bad rolls i guess :c

 **Yousoro:** Damn

 **zuramaru (gm):** So now it’s the Hungry’s turn, and it’s going to try and bite Jimmy again.

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls a nat 20 and deals 32 damage.

 **MIKAN GANG:** okay now i’m actually mad at this thing

 **MIKAN GANG:** is it my turn

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah.

 **MIKAN GANG:** so i’m gonna pop rage and make two attacks at the hangry

 **MIKAN GANG:** rolls are 14 and 22

 **zuramaru (gm):** The second one connects.

 **MIKAN GANG:** that one does 13 damage

 **MIKAN GANG:** i hope i’ve communicated to it that i hate it

 **Riko:** Pretty sure it understands that

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, back to Callie.

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ll attack the lost and hide again

 **Ganbaruby:** attack roll is 25, so 20 damage

 **Ganbaruby:** and hide roll is 25 also

 **zuramaru (gm):** You easily melt into the shadows again, leaving the Lost confused and visibly in pain. Next up is Kyou.

 **Dia:** I’ll spread out my damage a bit this turn, then.

 **Dia:** I make one attack at the Lost and the other at the Hungry.

 **Dia:** First attack roll is 22, so 7 damage.

 **Dia:** And the second is 23, which also does 7 damage.

 **Dia:** I’m going to use a couple of my chi abilities here. First, Stunning Strike on the Hungry with a save DC of 13.

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolled a 19.

 **Dia:** Okay, so I’ll follow up with Flurry of Blows on the Hungry.

 **Dia:** Rolls are a natural 20 and a 25, so that’s 16 damage total.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, on to Alleria.

 **Riko:** Let’s see if I can’t finish off the lost

 **Riko:** I rolled a 29, so 18 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s another kill! It’s down to just the Hungry now!

 **Riko:** Damn, favored enemy is good

 **Riko:** I’ll use my second attack on the hungry then

 **Riko:** Roll’s 22, so 19 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Good turn, now it’s on Umiel.

 **Kanan:** so now that we’re down to one target

 **Kanan:** it’s debuff time

 **Kanan:** i cast faerie fire centered on the hungry

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 14 to save.

 **Kanan:** that fails, so the debuff is on

 **Kanan:** go crazy guys

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, Diavola’s turn.

 **shiny.exe:** let’s keep this debuff train rolling

 **shiny.exe:** I cast dissonant whispers at the hungry

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls a 7 to save.

 **shiny.exe:** perfect

 **shiny.exe:** it fails the save and takes 14 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so the Hungry uses its reaction to break its grapple with Jimmy and immediately run away from Diavola.

 **Yohane:** oh my god mari this is such a good play

 **Yohane:** i make an opportunity attack

 **Yohane:** 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** That misses. Anyone else?

 **Yousoro:** I’ll make one too

 **Yousoro:** Nat 20 so uh, 21 damage

 **Yohane:** hell yeah

 **Dia:** I’ll make an attack as well.

 **Dia:** Roll is 19, so 5 damage.

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’ve got one too

 **MIKAN GANG:** 21, so 11 damage

 **MIKAN GANG:** get obliterated

 **zuramaru (gm):** Wow okay, so if nobody else has any opportunity attacks it’s Yohane’s turn now.

 **Yohane:** i’ll just close back in and throw on mirror image

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, Amara?

 **Yousoro:** I’ll get close too and make both of my attacks

 **Yousoro:** 11…

 **Yousoro:** And 1

 **Yohane:** okay are you cursed or something

 **Yousoro:** I must be

 **Yousoro:** Well, i’ve got nothing else

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, the Hungry is going to use its bite and claw attacks on Amara, because there aren’t four of her.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Both rolls are 16.

 **Yousoro:** Those miss

 **Yousoro:** At least we’re equally cursed lmao

 **zuramaru (gm):** So Jimmy’s turn now.

 **MIKAN GANG:** same as you tbh

 **MIKAN GANG:** close in and unload on the thing

 **MIKAN GANG:** my rolls are 14 and 16

 **zuramaru (gm):** Those both miss…

 **zuramaru (gm):** So it’s back to Callie.

 **Ganbaruby:** i think at this point i can get away with not hiding so i’ll just attack

 **Ganbaruby:** roll is 22, damage is 18

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Kyou’s turn.

 **Dia:** I’ll get close and use both attacks and martial arts on the Hungry.

 **Dia:** My normal attack rolls are 13 and 19, so the one that hits does 5 damage.

 **Dia:** And with martial arts, I rolled 25 and do 8 damage.

 **zuramaru (gm):** You’re wearing the thing down, keep it going! Alleria’s turn.

 **Riko:** I’ll make two attacks

 **Riko:** First one’s a 28, so 14 damage

 **Riko:** Second one crits, so 27 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Umiel’s turn.

 **Kanan:** i don’t see much else in my spells that’d be super helpful

 **Kanan:** i’ll just cast produce flame at the hungry

 **Kanan:** roll is 16

 **zuramaru (gm):** That misses, so on to Diavola.

 **shiny.exe:** I’ve got another spell or two that’ll be fun

 **shiny.exe:** let’s try tasha’s hideous laughter

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 11 to save.

 **shiny.exe:** nice, so it’s knocked prone

 **shiny.exe:** we’ve got it right where we want it now

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Yohane is next.

 **Yohane:** uhhh i’m not gonna risk knocking that thing back on its feet so

 **Yohane:** i cast shadow of moil and pass

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, it’s Amara’s turn.

 **Yousoro:** Okay, i’ll make both of my attacks

 **Yousoro:** First roll is 15

 **Yousoro:** Second roll is a nat 20

 **Yousoro:** Okay here we go i’m gonna smite on this hit

 **Yousoro:** I use a 3rd level slot and do 49 damage total

 **MIKAN GANG:** holy crap

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry gets to roll to break the laughter…

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 9 and stays prone. So now it passes to the Hungry’s turn.

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls again and gets a 16.

 **shiny.exe:** that breaks it

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so the Hungry is upright again, but that took its whole turn. Your go, Jimmy.

 **MIKAN GANG:** this thing has to be low by now let’s do this

 **MIKAN GANG:** i make two attacks and roll 27 and 19

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, I’ll rule that as enough. How do you wanna do this?

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh my god yes

 **MIKAN GANG:** i bury my axe in its chest and hold it close

 **MIKAN GANG:** and as it’s dying i say

 **MIKAN GANG:** i told you you’d die for that

 **Riko:** Did you?

 **MIKAN GANG:** just let me have this nerd

 **Riko:** Lol of course, you’ve earned a moment of glory

 **MIKAN GANG:** i wanna take this thing’s head off and bring it back to town just to make sure nobody ignores this whole thing

 **zuramaru (gm):** You can certainly do that.

 **Dia:** We should also search the place for survivors.

 **Ganbaruby:** do you think anyone could really survive being taken by these things

 **Dia:** We won’t know unless we look! I say we spend at least a few minutes making sure there’s nothing else alive in here.

 **zuramaru (gm):** After a moment of searching the cave you find a scattered pile of bodies, most of them unrecognizable thanks to the Hungry. But one body appears untouched, at least by comparison.

 **Yohane:** ooh this could be hino

 **Kanan:** i check the body for a pulse

 **zuramaru (gm):** There is a pulse. It appears this person is still alive.

 **Yohane:** yeah i bet this is hino

 **Yohane:** let’s take him back to base before we confront the daimyo again

 **Riko:** And maybe Umiel and I can look after him while the rest of you visit the castle again

 **Riko:** Between the two of us I think we can handle an unconscious guy

 **MIKAN GANG:** alright let’s get going, i’m so ready to show that daimyo what’s what

*    *    *

 **MIKAN GANG:** i drop the head on the floor in front of the daimyo

 **MIKAN GANG:** we think this is the thing that was taking people, will you stop ignoring this now

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo remains unfazed as he looks down at the Hungry’s severed head, luckily not bleeding out all over his floor. “I see. You are certainly to be commended for slaying this creature. Speak with my steward on your way out.”

 **shiny.exe:** is that uh

 **shiny.exe:** is that all he has to say

 **Dia:** Diavola…

 **zuramaru (gm):** He remains silent, yes.

 **MIKAN GANG:** okay is anyone else about to throw down because this guy clearly doesn’t give a shit

 **shiny.exe:** I’m with you Jimmy

 **Yohane:** yo

 **Yohane:** yo little demon you have some social spells can you defuse this

 **Yousoro:** I can give it a shot

 **Yousoro:** I cast charm person on the daimyo

 **zuramaru (gm):** He rolls a 4 to save, so he’s charmed by Amara for the next minute. He’ll be more friendly now.

 **Yohane:** seriously no need to fight random npcs

 **Yohane:** thanks little demon

 **Yousoro:** (￣^￣)ゞ

 **shiny.exe:** so can I ask him what he’s covering up now

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo pretty much ignores you.

 **Yohane:** right he’s only charmed by amara

 **Yohane:** look like you’ll have to take this one little demon

 **Yousoro:** Okay so

 **Yousoro:** Can I persuade him to tell me if he’s covering anything up

 **zuramaru (gm):** You can roll, yeah.

 **Yousoro:** 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo maintains his composure as he tells you, “Please. Talk to my steward and be on your way.”

 **Yohane:** hmmmm

 **Yohane:** don’t you also have zone of truth

 **Yohane:** but it might be too late, he’ll probably hate us when the charm breaks

 **Yohane:** might just be time to call this off and see what happens

 **Dia:** Yes, if the daimyo gets a worse impression of us for charming him we could very well get run out of town or worse.

 **MIKAN GANG:** well i’m leaving the head, i’m not letting him sweep this whole thing under the rug

 **Yousoro:** Wouldn’t it be easier to leave this case open if we hold onto it

 **Yousoro:** He could just burn it or something

 **MIKAN GANG:** you’re so right you

 **MIKAN GANG:** bless

 **Dia:** Then let’s get going while the charm is still up(?)

 **zuramaru (gm):** The daimyo raises a single eyebrow. You might want to get out of here.

 **Ganbaruby:** on it

 **shiny.exe:** do we even want to talk to the steward or are we running

 **Yohane:** idk what he could really offer us

 **Yohane:** let’s just get back to base, maybe hino knows something

 **zuramaru (gm):** You all hurriedly depart the castle, rushing past the steward who looks like he has something to say. Alas, you’re all long gone and on your way back to base. So we can bring Alleria and Umiel back in now.

 **Riko:** How can we determine if we were able to resuscitate him while the gang was out

 **zuramaru (gm):** Either of you can make a medicine roll.

 **Kanan:** i got this

 **Kanan:** 12

 **zuramaru (gm):** So you were able to wake him up and stabilize him, but he’s still pretty weak. He could hold a conversation as this point.

 **Dia:** Are we back? I want to talk with him.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah, away team makes it back to base without any hiccups. Hino glares at the group adventurers before him, but stays silent for now.

 **Dia:** Okay, I’ll approach him.

 **Dia:** You’re Hino, correct? My associates and I have been looking for you. I intend to make this town safe again in the name of Tokugawa.

 **zuramaru (gm):** He visibly tenses up when you mention that name, but then responds, “Are you also looking into the disappearances?”

 **Dia:** We are. My companions and I would be quite interested in what you’ve learned so far, seeing as how you almost disappeared yourself.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Hino’s face twists up. “You mean that… wasn’t a dream?”

 **MIKAN GANG:** the big mouthy guy? yeah, he was very real and i killed him very dead so you’re safe now

 **zuramaru (gm):** Whatever relief Hino might feel is masked by his increasing horror. “I thought… there was no way that the last week has all been real. That would mean…” He trails off and puts his hand to his mouth.

 **Dia:** It’s okay, you’re safe now, as Jimmy said. Just slow down and tell us what you can, from as far back as you can.

 **zuramaru (gm):** He looks up at you like he’s forgotten you existed, but nods shakily and begins, “It all started about a month ago, when the owner of the Kano Ryokan disappeared. The whole town felt the absence as travelers stopped here less and less frequently. Then someone else vanished, apparently unrelated to the owner of the Kano. Then another. I brought up my concern in passing to those around me, but nobody seemed to feel the same. So I took it upon myself to start investigating. I asked the daimyo for help multiple times, and saw him on a few other occasions as people started to complain about my prying, but still nobody seemed to treat this like a legitimate problem. I was starting to suspect a conspiracy, and as if the town itself wanted to shut me up, that horrible creature carried me away as I left the castle. That couldn’t have been more than a day or two ago.” He looks exhausted simply from recounting all this, and glares up at you expectantly.

 **Dia:** Do you… want our help in exposing a conspiracy?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Hino’s heavy breathing breaks into a yawn. He begins, “Yes, I do,” before trailing off and collapsing again.

 **Riko:** Uhhhhhh Kanan help

 **Kanan:** i check to see if he’s still stable

 **zuramaru (gm):** He is. He seems to just be exhausted from the mental and emotional strain of the last few minutes.

 **Yohane:** wow same

 **Yohane:** so we’re basically dealing with an innsmouth kinda plot

 **Yohane:** yeah we’re gonna have to try again with the daimyo tomorrow and maybe get a little rough

 **Ganbaruby:** i’m so ready for that actually

 **Dia:** Oh god…

 **Dia:** Uh, what say we sleep on that, hm?

 **zuramaru (gm):** It is night by now. You can take a long rest if you want.

 **Kanan:** let’s

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, you all spend the night resting and recovering from your encounter with the aberrations. Morning comes...

 **zuramaru (gm):** Did anyone keep watch overnight?

 **Riko:** Uh

 **Riko:** No?

 **shiny.exe:** I don’t think anyone expected an inn in the middle of town would need a night watch

 **zuramaru (gm):** Normally it wouldn’t but…

 **zuramaru (gm):** When you awake, you find the door open and Hino gone.

 **Yohane:** did they just

 **Yohane:** disappear him a second time

 **MIKAN GANG:** somebody stop me from going straight to the castle and beating the shit out of the daimyo

 **Yousoro:** No matter who’s responsible i doubt that’d help anything

 **Yousoro:** We should probably try tracking again

 **Riko:** Okay, I’ll ping my favored enemies again

 **zuramaru (gm):** You detect two monstrosities...

 **zuramaru (gm):** They’re somewhere in the castle.

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’m sorry you i’m having a hard time remembering what you said

 **Dia:** We’ll just have to, uh…

 **Dia:** Ask the daimyo about this! I’m sure if he learns this is happening under his nose he’ll want to take action.

 **Yohane:** he’s probably either in on it or under the thumb of those that are

 **Yohane:** i think this might take a stealthier approach

 **Kanan:** good thing i picked up pass without trace

 **Ganbaruby:** and i can get us through any doors in our way

 **Ganbaruby:** and then we’ll kill whoever’s behind these disappearances

 **Dia:** …

 **Yohane:** that’s the spirit

 **Yousoro:** Time to save numazu huh

 **Yousoro:** (￣^￣)ゞ

*    *    *

 **zuramaru (gm):** The lock gives, and the door to Castle Numazu creaks open. Nobody appears to be immediately inside.

 **Kanan:** okay i’ll cast pass without trace now just to be sure

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so everybody gets +10 to stealth checks for the next hour. You stand silently at the entrance to the castle, now ajar. What do you do?

 **Riko:** Make a survival check to see if there are any monstrosity tracks I can pick up on

 **Riko:** 21

 **zuramaru (gm):** The main entrance is devoid of any signs, but peering into a side passageway you notice a clawmark on the wall. It appears to be the sort left by the Hungry, based on what you recall from the previous fight.

 **Riko:** Okay let’s head that way, carefully this time

 **zuramaru (gm):** You approach the clawmark, which lies on the corner of a turn in the passageway. This new side passage leads to a set of stairs heading down. Along the walls are several more clawmarks similar to the first.

 **Riko:** This is too easy

 **Yohane:** yeah it really is

 **Yohane:** i’ll take the lead

 **Yohane:** let’s see what’s at the bottom then

 **zuramaru (gm):** At the bottom of the stairs is a single door, oddly pristine compared to the walls.

 **Yohane:** i’ll give it a try

 **zuramaru (gm):** It’s locked ridiculously well. Nothing even kind of budges as you attempt to wiggle the handle.

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ve got this

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ll try picking the lock

 **Ganbaruby:** 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** The keyhole seems to repel your tools, glowing slightly as it does so.

 **Yohane:** ohh enchanted lock

 **Kanan:** i’ve got dispel magic, i’ll give that a try

 **Kanan:** i roll 20 to break the enchantment

 **zuramaru (gm):** The lock gives a dim flash before returning to its original, dull appearance.

 **Kanan:** try it now callie

 **Ganbaruby:** okay, take two

 **Ganbaruby:** 13

 **zuramaru (gm):** Without its magical enhancement, the lock proves to be child’s play. The door opens into a dimly lit room that appears to be some kind of laboratory. Workbenches line two of the walls, with cages on another. A stairway in the corner leads to a raised section of the room that’s obscured from this angle, though there appears to be a humanoid figure standing there with their back turned.

 **Yohane:** okay

 **Yohane:** melee squad, move up

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ll try to hide before we get the figure’s attention

 **zuramaru (gm):** Under the circumstances, I’ll just give that to you. Consider yourself hidden.

 **Yohane:** i guess i’m leading the convo with the boss again, so i call out to the figure

 **Yohane:** hey, sorry to interrupt but i’ve got some questions if that’s okay

 **zuramaru (gm):** The figure quickly turns to face you, revealing…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Nobody you recognize. He seems surprised to see anybody else here.

 **MIKAN GANG:** wait so there are more than just 2 people in this castle

 **Riko:** Apparently

 **Yohane:** so it looks like you’ve got a pretty sweet setup down here

 **Yohane:** what are the cages for?

 **zuramaru (gm):** The figure is visibly confused, and remains cautiously silent for the time being.

 **Yohane:** okay then

 **Yohane:** can you put a zone of truth up there little demon

 **Yousoro:** Can do

 **Yousoro:** I’ll cast zone of truth at the spot he’s standing

 **zuramaru (gm):** He rolls a 12 to save.

 **Yousoro:** That’s a fail

 **Yohane:** excellent

 **Yohane:** i’ll ask again

 **Yohane:** what are the cages for?

 **zuramaru (gm):** The figure is aware that he’s being compelled to tell the truth, and appears slightly disturbed by that fact, but after a moment of deliberation starts to explain anyway. “Oh, they’re for the subjects. You know how they get.”

 **Yohane:** do i

 **Yohane:** you mean those hungry boys?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Yes, them and the Lost subjects as well. And the human stock we’ve been gathering to make them.”

 **Dia:** Make… them?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Oh, you don’t know what we’re doing here? We’ve been trying to recreate those Hungry, as you call them. It’s been difficult, but the authorities have been cooperative with me and my needs. Life seems to be going on out there, with or without the human stock I’ve used so far.”

 **Yohane:** so you’re experimenting on townspeople

 **Yohane:** and turning them into those monstrosities?

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Oh, yes.”

 **Ganbaruby:** i try to shoot him

 **Ganbaruby:** oh, 11

 **zuramaru (gm):** Your arrow whizzes past him, close enough to get his attention.

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Does that mean you’re here to stop me?”

 **Yousoro:** Hell yes it does

 **zuramaru (gm):** “Oh.”

 **zuramaru (gm):** The figure, who we’ll call conjurer for this fight, casts Evard’s Black Tentacles centered on Yohane. So Jimmy, Amara, Yohane, Kyou, and Alleria need to make DEX saving throws.

 **MIKAN GANG:** 4

 **Yohane:** 17

 **Yousoro:** 15

 **Riko:** 24

 **Dia:** 16.

 **zuramaru (gm):** Everyone but Jimmy succeeds, who takes 14 damage and is restrained. Two Hungry emerge from the shadows. Were they in the cages before? They start lurching forward as well. Now, roll initiative!

 **Ganbaruby:** 19

 **Dia:** 23.

 **Yohane:** 10

 **Yousoro:** 17

 **MIKAN GANG:** 2

 **Riko:** 20

 **shiny.exe:** 11

 **Kanan:** 15

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, turn order is Kyou, Alleria, Callie, Amara, Umiel, the conjurer, Diavola, Yohane, Jimmy, and then the two Hungry somehow. Everyone who starts their turn within 20 feet of Yohane has to make a DEX save at the start of their turn or get hurt and restrained by the tentacles. Let’s get it going!

 **Dia:** My DEX save is 25, so I take it I’m in the clear?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yes.

 **Dia:** Then I’ll begin by closing in and attacking the first of the two Hungry. Attack roll is 20.

 **zuramaru (gm):** That hits, but since we’re in dim light the Hungry both have resistance to piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning. Basically cut all physical damage you deal in half.

 **Dia:** Oh, wonderful…

 **Dia:** Well, damage is 5, then. My second attack roll is 19, does that hit?

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yes.

 **Dia:** So that deals 3 damage, and I’ll follow up with flurry of blows and activate stunning strike for good measure.

 **Dia:** And that’s a critical hit, so the Hungry takes 6 damage and has to make a CON save.

 **zuramaru (gm):** I assume 22 is enough?

 **Dia:** It is…

 **Dia:** Does anyone have anything that can produce bright light?

 **Yohane:** i don’t think so

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alright, it’s Alleria’s turn then.

 **Riko:** My saving throw is 17 first of all

 **zuramaru (gm):** You’re good.

 **Riko:** So I’ll move outside of the tentacle aoe and make my attacks at the conjurer. Both rolls are 14

 **zuramaru (gm):** Those both hit, so upon taking damage the conjurer has to make a saving throw to maintain concentration on his spell.

 **zuramaru (gm):** That’s a 6, so the tentacles dissipate and Jimmy is let go.

 **Riko:** My attacks do 13 and 19 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Good hits, now to Callie.

 **Ganbaruby:** i’ll attack the same hungry that dia attacked

 **Dia:** Kyou.

 **Ganbaruby:** right

 **Ganbaruby:** anyway my roll is 21 so i do 11 damage

 **Ganbaruby:** and i won’t do anything else

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, on to Amara.

 **Yousoro:** I’ll make both of my attacks at the same hungry

 **zuramaru (gm):** We’ll call that one Hungry A.

 **Yousoro:** Okay, my rolls are 22 and a nat 20

 **Yohane:** ooh time to whip out that smite

 **Yousoro:** Yeah, i’ll use a 3rd level slot to smite on the second attack

 **Yousoro:** So that’s 47 damage total

 **Yohane:** oh and i forgot last fight but crits give you a bonus attack off gwm

 **Yousoro:** Cool, so that hits and does 4 more damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Umiel’s turn.

 **Kanan:** i’ll cast earth tremor with a 3rd level slot at the conjurer

 **zuramaru (gm):** The conjurer rolls a 6 to save, so he’ll take the full effect.

 **Kanan:** so 10 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** The conjurer stumbles back and doubles over for a moment. He’s at his limit, but he’s not finished, so he retreats back into the shadows to let the Hungry do the rest of the work. He’s out of the fight, and it’s Diavola’s turn now.

 **shiny.exe:** y’all know what time it is

 **shiny.exe:** I’mma cast faerie fire centered between the two hungries

 **zuramaru (gm):** What’s your spell DC?

 **shiny.exe:** 16

 **zuramaru (gm):** Then they both fail that. Advantage is up for the next minute, anything else?

 **shiny.exe:** well after witnessing that absolutely ~sexy~ smite, I want to give Amara some inspiration

 **shiny.exe:** so you can add a d8 to an attack roll or saving throw if you need it

 **Yousoro:** (￣^￣)ゞ

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so now it’s on to Yohane.

 **Yohane:** well if these things get damage resistance either way, i’ll put up shadow of moil and reposition so it’s not in the way of anyone else’s attacks

 **Yohane:** and pass

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Jimmy?

 **MIKAN GANG** : i want to breathe fire at hungry a

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls a 10 to save.

 **MIKAN GANG:** sweet, full effect

 **MIKAN GANG:** that’s 10 fire damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry recoils for a moment, then sets its sights on you. On its turn, it approaches you and swipes with its claw. Its attack roll is 17.

 **MIKAN GANG:** oh boy that’s a hit

 **zuramaru (gm):** It deals 14 damage and grapples you, then moves to bite you.

 **zuramaru (gm):** And that roll’s a 20, so you take another 15.

 **Yohane:** i set up my tanking spell and you have to go and draw its attention by breathing fire at it

 **MIKAN GANG:** it doesn’t resist fire

 **Riko:** That’s a

 **Riko:** Good point?

 **Riko:** Just don’t die

*    *    *

 **Yousoro:** So i’ll smite with a 2nd level slot on the attack that hits

 **Yousoro:** 37 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** That takes out the first Hungry! As you raise your sword, it glows with an almost harsh light that sticks to the Hungry on impact. It releases Jimmy and collapses to the ground, convulsing.

 **Youroso:** And now i get an extra attack so i’ll attack the other one

 **Yousoro:** 20, so 7 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, on to Umiel.

 **Kanan:** how’s your hp chika

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’m hurting lmao

 **Kanan:** okay, i’ll produce flame at the hungry and use my bonus action for healing word

 **Kanan:** attack roll is 21, so 6 fire damage

 **Kanan:** and i’ll use a 3rd level slot and heal jimmy for 9 hp

 **zuramaru (gm):** Though the Hungry recoils at your flame, it quickly perks up as it senses the life energy of your Healing Word. Its Life Hunger ability triggers, and it’ll do way more damage on its next turn.

 **Kanan:** oh

 **Kanan:** uhhh now’s a good time for some control mari

 **shiny.exe:** oh, I got you

 **shiny.exe:** I’ll use dissonant whispers

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry rolls a 9 to save and takes the full effect.

 **shiny.exe:** so it takes 16 damage and has to run away

 **Yousoro:** I’ll make an opportunity attack as it runs

 **Yousoro:** 21, so 7 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry runs toward an alcove at the edge of the cavern, clearly disturbed. Yohane?

 **Yohane:** i’ll fire two eldritch blasts at it

 **Yohane:** 10 and 21, one hit

 **Yohane:** so i deal 7 damage and pull the hungry 10 feet in my direction

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Jimmy’s turn.

 **MIKAN GANG:** well i’m at about half hp so hopefully i can stay in the fray

 **MIKAN GANG:** i’ll close in and make my two attacks

 **MIKAN GANG:** 9 and a nat 20

 **MIKAN GANG:** so i deal 9 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Unfortunately, the critical hit was enough to attract its attention. However, the Hungry is still shaken, and mostly just wants you out of its face, so it’s going to try and shove you. Make an athletics roll.

 **MIKAN GANG:** 27

 **zuramaru (gm):** And it rolled 19,so it fails to move you. It bites at you in desperation and rolls a 22.

 **MIKAN GANG:** that hits

 **zuramaru (gm):** And it deals…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Oh my god, 54 damage.

 **MIKAN GANG:** wait am i dead then

 **MIKAN GANG:** i was at 41

 **zuramaru (gm):** You fall unconscious, but if you stay that way you’ll have to roll death saves, and the Hungry can decide to finish you off itself.

 **MIKAN GANG:** shitttt

 **Yohane:** okay no we can deal with this

 **Yohane:** i really hope you can actually stun it this time dia

 **Yohane:** and you’ll have to use your lay on hands to save chika, little demon

 **Yousoro:** But my smites are like the best source of damage against this thing

 **Yohane:** and you also have the best one-off heal

 **Yohane:** you can kind of do everything

 **Yousoro:** …

 **Yousoro:** Alright, got it

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so it passes to Kyou’s turn.

 **Dia:** Okay, I’ll try out Yohane’s plan even though she didn’t get my name right.

 **Yohane:** oh my god how are you being the nerd here

 **Dia:** Anyway!

 **Dia:** I’ll make my three attacks.

 **Dia:** Rolls are 9, a natural 20, and a 19.

 **Dia:** Total damage is 10, and I’ll attempt another stunning strike.

 **zuramaru (gm):** The Hungry rolls 11 to save.

 **Dia:** Ha! That’s a failure! It’s stunned!

 **Dia:** (Finally…)

 **zuramaru (gm):** Alleria’s turn.

 **Riko:** Okay so I guess we just have to burn the thing down now huh

 **Yohane:** yeah pull out all the stops you can

 **Riko:** Well, I have my two attacks, so I’ll do that

 **Riko:** 24 and 19, so 23 damage total

 **Ganbaruby:** and i’ll make my attack too

 **Ganbaruby:** 17, so 12 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** And the turn passes to Amara.

 **Yousoro:** Okay, i’ll move to jimmy and use all 30 points of my lay on hands to heal her up

 **zuramaru (gm):** You press your hands to her chest and expend as much of your divine energy as you can to heal her. You feel drained, but Jimmy immediately wakes up in fighting condition.

 **MIKAN GANG:** I’M BACK BITCHES

 **MIKAN GANG:** thanks you, i don’t think riko would forgive me if i died here

 **zuramaru (gm):** Although Jimmy is back in the fight, the Hungry’s Life Hunger triggers again off of Amara’s healing.

 **Yousoro:** Are you kidding me

 **Yohane:** don’t worry little demon it’s stunned

 **Yohane:** i think we can take it before its next attack

 **Yousoro:** I really hope so because that was all of my healing

 **Yousoro:** We can’t survive another life hunger attack and we lost a chunk of damage from that missed smite

 **Yohane:** just trust me

 **zuramaru (gm):** So it’s Umiel’s turn now…

 **Kanan:** i’ll produce flame again

 **Kanan:** 23, so 10 damage

 **Kanan:** and since life hunger’s already up i can get away with another healing word on jimmy

 **Kanan:** so i’ll heal her for 5

 **MIKAN GANG:** dank u

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, Diavola?

 **shiny.exe:** okay we’re pulling out all the stops so first off I’ll faerie fire

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 4 to save.

 **shiny.exe:** so that’s up, and I’ll give Amara inspiration again

 **shiny.exe:** so you can get another smite in for sure

 **Yohane:** okay on my turn i’ll eldritch blast twice

 **Yohane:** 21 and 9, so one hit for 5 damage

 **Yohane:** i’ll push it back 10 feet and move myself to about 12 feet away from it

 **Yohane:** make sure you move behind me after you attack chika

 **MIKAN GANG:** can do

 **MIKAN GANG:** so i’ll get in close and make my two attacks

 **MIKAN GANG:** 17 and 14, so i do 6 damage

 **MIKAN GANG:** and then i’ll move behind yohane

 **zuramaru (gm):** So the turn passes to the Hungry, but it’s stunned, so it does nothing and its Life Hunger fades. Kyou’s turn.

 **Yohane:** see little demon we got this

 **Dia:** Okay, I’ll make my three attacks.

 **Dia:** Rolls are 21, 14, and 26, so I do 7 damage total.

 **Dia:** No tricks this time, that’s all I’m going to do.

 **Riko:** And I’ll make my two

 **Riko:** 18 and 24

 **Riko:** 18 damage

 **Ganbaruby:** and i’ll make my attack

 **Ganbaruby:** 18, so that’s 15 damage

 **Ganbaruby:** i really hope this thing is almost dead

 **Yohane:** just smite for all you’ve got little demon

 **Yousoro:** Okay

 **Yousoro:** Rolls are 14 and 22, i’ll use inspiration and make it 18 and 24

 **Yousoro:** Then i’ll smite with a 2nd level slot

 **Yousoro:** 35 damage

 **zuramaru (gm):** Umiel’s turn again.

 **Kanan:** i’ll just keep producin that flame

 **Kanan:** 23, so 11 damage

 **shiny.exe:** and now

 **shiny.exe:** the time has come

 **shiny.exe:** to spit a fucking diss verse

 **shiny.exe:** I’ll use vicious mockery

 **zuramaru (gm):** It rolls 6 to save

 **shiny.exe:** yesssss

 **shiny.exe:** I look the Hungry right in the eye and say

 **shiny.exe:** Gary Gygax told me you’re a little bitch

 **shiny.exe:** and it takes 4 psychic damage

 **Yohane:** why do you even

 **Yohane:** nevermind, cantrip time

 **Yohane:** i cast two eldritch blast

 **Yohane:** 17 and 18, so they hit for 9 damage total

 **zuramaru (gm):** Okay, so…

 **zuramaru (gm):** Normally, I’d ask how you want to do this, but just as your lethal hit connects, you hear a rumbling sound coming from around where the conjurer fell. Then, you hear his voice.

 **zuramaru (gm):** “You’ve caused me and my master a lot of trouble,” he pauses to catch his breath. “And based on what you told me, this isn’t the first time either. So I think it’s time that you met him yourself!”

 **Yohane:** oh god

 **zuramaru (gm):** A familiar portal opens up, but unlike the last one, it seems to pull you all in its direction. Before you can react, it pulls in the conjurer, then Yohane, then Amara, and the rest follow quickly. You’re being whisked away to somewhere else once again, and your adventure for this week is over.

 **Riko:** Well, that worked out somehow

 **MIKAN GANG:** lmao you guys should’ve seen the look on her face when i went down it was priceless

 **Riko:** I did tell you not to die…

 **MIKAN GANG:** and i didn’t

 **MIKAN GANG:** btw thanks you

 **Yousoro:** I’d say no problem but

 **Yousoro:** That fight was a lot

 **Yousoro:** I’m gonna call it a night rn actually

 **Yohane:** oh, good night little demon

 **MIKAN GANG:** aaaand she’s out already

 **MIKAN GANG:** same tbh

 **zuramaru (gm):** Yeah, that one went a bit long, sorry. But we only have one session to go, so see y’all for more next week!

**Epilogue 2: Yoshiko’s house**

Dead silence. Same ceiling as ever. Maybe she should put something up there, make it at least a little interesting.

Yoshiko tried to shake the thought out of her head. That was a distraction. If she wasn’t going to actually think things through she could at least have the decency to just lie there and feel bad about herself.

But there had to be a specific moment where she had messed up. How far back was it? Playing party leader for that last fight? Trying to push You to be as engaged as mathematically possible? Going along with Zuramaru’s D&D idea in the first place? Bothering to voice her stress at all?

 _Reel it back, you idiot._ Yoshiko had been doing this for what felt like an hour, alternating between hyperbolic self-deprecation and some vague sense of shame. It was quickly becoming annoying and played out, honestly.

Abruptly, she sat up and immediately doubled over from the dizziness that overtook her vision. But anything was better than all of, well, _that_.

All she really had to do was figure out if she should take initiative or wait for You to text her. They both knew that this should be easy to talk through once the dust settled, right? Right. So who texts first? Because the whole issue is that she basically never texts first but if Yoshiko re-initiated it might just be an extension of how overbearing she was being in-game so no, You could do it and that’s. That.

What time was it? Yoshiko went to grab her phone, but no, now wasn’t the time to light up the screen. Whatever, she wasn’t tired. She slinked over to her desk and got ready to game until an irresponsible hour. Just give it some time. She took a second to savor the silence before turning on her computer.

She almost fell out of her chair when her text tone went off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long and I'm so sorry
> 
> But hey, it's done! I haven't even started outlining chapter 3 so we'll see where it goes, hopefully it's somewhere fun. Once again, huge thanks to Asallia for keeping up my morale and suggesting some tweaks before publishing.


End file.
